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Motorcycle.com on “American Chopper”: Senior vs. Junior vs. Jesse James

Mon, 05 Dec 2011

The infamous “American Chopper” TV juggernaut rolls on, with a two-hour special to be broadcast tonight and culminating with a live event on Tuesday evening in Las Vegas.

The interesting thing about this week’s shows is that I’m in Vegas as a guest critic of the builds, a three-team competition between Paul Teutul Senior, Paul Junior and the notorious Jesse James. Earlier today I got a chance to see the vehicles for the first time, and what a trio it is!

Check out our exclusive first looks at their builds after the jump.

James’ bike is the most conventional, with a traditional long-and-tall-necked chopper. Its unique aspect is a frame made of difficult-to-fabricate stainless steel, as is the one-off springer front end.

Paul Junior’s team has produced an aeronautical-themed creation, with its most distinctive touch being its giant 30-inch propeller-shaped wheels that gives it a caricatureish appearance. Another unique styling element is an exhaust system that’s routed through and out the sides of the faux fuel tank like a WW II P-51 Mustang.

Paul Senior and the crew at Orange County Choppers have produced the craziest contraption of them all. Picture a Can-Am Spyder using a pair of rubber tracks where the front wheels would be, plus a tracked wheel at the rear. If that wasn’t enough to set it apart, the pure electric powerplant surely will! Can a machine with three points of contact and no wheels be considered a chopper? Not in my book, but it’s undoubtedly a visually stunning machine different from anything we’ve seen before.

Joining me as on-camera critics are Keith Ball from Bikernet.com and Mark Boone Jr., who plays the role of Robert “Bobby Elvis” Munson in the “Sons of Anarchy” series. It’s been the highest-rated show ever on the FX network and is finishing its fourth season.

So tune in to tonight’s special on the build process of the individual machines on the Discovery Channel, then follow it up by checking out Tuesday night’s live special when you’ll see a glimpse or three of your humble Editor-in-Chief!





By Kevin Duke


See also: Jesse James to Appear on American Chopper, New Stuff: Weise Street Fight Glove, More Brit: Teutel's 1957 Ariel T-5 up for sale.